


Ridiculous, Utterly Ridiculous

by sagansjagger



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25995058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger
Summary: This shouldn't hurt as much as it does, Chat thinks.But after being rejected by Ladybug (again), he's devastated. Vaulting across the city blindly, he finds himself on the balcony of the Grand Paris...And finds sympathy from an unexpected person: his oldest friend outside of the mask, Chloé Bourgeois.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 26
Kudos: 83
Collections: August 2020 - Exchange





	Ridiculous, Utterly Ridiculous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lethargic_Pink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethargic_Pink/gifts).



> Given to [Lethargic_Pink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethargic_Pink/pseuds/Lethargic_Pink/works?fandom_id=582724) in the August fic exchange on the [Miraculous Fanworks](https://discord.gg/mfanworksl) Discord server. If you are interested in participating in organized, server-wide events with a community of like-minded people, join today!

“Kitty,” Ladybug said, and Chat’s heart sank at the repudiation in her tone. Her eyes looked surprisingly sad despite the rebuff. Like hurting him hurt her, too. “I can’t.”

Chat straightened from his kneeling position. He twisted the rose stem in his clawed fingertips, spinning the bloom. “I understand, Ladybug.” 

But he didn’t understand. Why didn’t she want him? Why wasn’t Chat ever good enough? Why… couldn’t she take a chance on him? He could be good for her. He knew she loved another boy, but that… that thought was so painful that he often stuffed it, only to be reminded when she rejected him yet again. 

She said she couldn’t love him. But was it couldn’t, or didn’t want to? Ladybug was the only girl for him. Chat adored everything he knew of her and desperately wanted to know more. He just wished that she’d want to know more about him, too. 

But Adrien was never good enough--for anyone. His father had to schedule their dinners. Nathalie was a poor substitute for a mother. And the Gorilla only spoke in grunts; Adrien had stopped waiting for an affirmation of love from him. 

And Emilie had left. She couldn’t even stick around to raise her son. He’d always seen his mother through rose-colored glasses until recently, when he’d realized how much her leaving had affected him. No one told him the extent of her disease or even what it was, so he’d been lost and confused--and then she’d just… vanished.

If only he’d been a better son. If only he’d done better at keeping his opinions to himself. At keeping his emotions from bleeding all over the place, crawling up his throat from the constant, suffocating knot in his chest. If only...

Emilie had left. And Adrien had been lonely--so lonely--until he’d met Plagg and Ladybug. She’d been the first female role model his age he’d ever had, aside from Chloé. No wonder he’d imprinted on Ladybug like a baby duck, constantly trailing after her and quacking, screaming into the void.

Now he wasn’t good enough. Again.

Ladybug was still looking at him on the rooftop, squinting in the light of the dying sun. Chat wanted her to look at him more, to see him for who he was--but at the same time he wanted to be anywhere but there, under her searching gaze.

Chat offered her the rose. She took it. She always took them. 

That hurt.

“I’m glad we’re friends,” he choked out, and she nodded. And he was glad. Chat wanted to be her friend more than anything.

He just also wanted to be her lover.

Chat stepped closer to her. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, which she allowed with a faint blush, and he didn’t pull away. He lingered by her face a little too long to inhale her fresh, sweet scent of cucumber melon body spray. By the time he pulled back, her eyes were wide, and her lips were slightly parted.

“Chat… I...”

Chat had to ask her the question. He didn’t want to. But he must. “Could you have ever loved me? If _he_ weren’t in the way?” 

Her jaw dropped. Tears welled in her eyes. She shut her mouth and looked away, dashing his heart to pieces. Then her hands dropped to her sides, and she nodded. 

Chat sucked a breath over his teeth. He knew that he had to phrase his words carefully. This moment would make or break him. “So,” he said, biting his lower lip, careful not to cut himself with his fangs. “Can we… try? Can we just pretend he doesn’t exist and try?”

“I…” Ladybug said, sniffling. She brought the rose up to her nose and took a bite of one of the petals as a comfort food for ladybugs. Chewing thoughtfully and through her tears, she said, “I’d like that, Chat, but… I can’t. I love him too much.”

Chat’s chin dropped to his chest. The rejection stung more than any previous one had, and he wondered why this one hurt so much. _Was it because I thought I had a chance? That she could have loved me once upon a time?_

He wiped his eyes on the back of his wrist, took one look at Ladybug--who was still not looking at him--and fled.

Chat vaulted blindly throughout the city, tears whipping away from his face in the wind. He overextended his arms and legs until his muscles burned, punishing himself physically if he couldn’t do it emotionally. He circled the city four times, not paying attention to where he was, until he was utterly lost.

Finally exhausted and with a body as sore as his heart, Chat landed on a familiar rooftop with a pool. He could barely see through his glazed night vision, but he could hear the girlish shriek well enough.

“What the heck are you doing on _my_ balcony?” the girl demanded, and her bright pants flared in his night vision as she stood from her deck chair.

 _White capris?_ Chat thought muzzily, inhaling with a great sniff. He placed his baton on his back on instinct, not realizing he was doing it. _Chloé? Chloé Bourgeois?_

Then he realized she needed an explanation and he’d been standing there like a heartbroken idiot. “I’m a heartbroken idiot.” 

That.. was not what he’d intended to say.

“I don’t care,” Chloé said, tossing her ponytail. “Whatever you superheroes get up to is not at all my concern, least of all things like falling in love with each other.”

Chat’s tongue felt thick in his mouth. He choked around it and on his surprise. “How did you know I’m in love with Ladybug?”

Chloé glanced at the pool. “It’s sort of obvious, Chat Noir,” she said, and he detected a hint of guilt in her acerbic tone. He didn’t know where that was coming from. “Anyone who reads the Ladyblog can tell you’re fluffy head over stupid heels.”

He didn’t know why Chloé wasn’t looking at him. Her averted gaze reminded him too much of Ladybug’s, and he sank to his knees, letting loose a sob that had built up in his chest for the last hour.

Chloé straightened her shoulders, standing stock still. A grimace twisted her lips. She seemed to snap out of whatever had her stunned, and approached him. “I’m going to regret this,” she grumbled, and gripped his shoulder as it trembled. “There, there. Or something. What did she do to you, you mangy cat?”

“R-Rejected me,” Chat forced out through his blubbering, burying his face in his hands. He heard Chloé’s _tsk_. “She’s in love with someone else.”

“I’m sure you’re a… fabulous catch,” Chloé said, keeping her distance from him as she lifted her hand and patted him once, hard. And again. He grunted from the impact. “There has to be something to like about you.”

He didn’t say anything, so she continued. “I mean, I’d reject you, too. No offense.”

Chat wiped his nose on the back of his wrist. “You’re really bad at this,” he said, his lower lip quivering as he looked up at her. “Thanks for trying, Chlo.”

She started. “Adrien?” she said, her breath catching in her throat. “Adrien Agreste?”

_Oh. Oh, crap._

Chloé’s entire demeanor changed. Her eyes softened. She raised her hand and brushed his wild blond mane out of his eyes. “Is it really you under there, Adrikins?”

Adrien bit his cheek. He screwed his eyes shut to stem the flow of tears, but his efforts were fruitless. His chest shuddered and his shoulders sagged. _I have to face this. I have to face her._ Adrien drew a deep, deep breath in through his mouth and exhaled heavily. He opened his eyes, only to catch Chloé’s gentle, understanding gaze. 

“Yeah, Chlo,” Adrien said, and sniffed again. “It’s me.”

Chloé threw her arms around him, kneeling with him and cupping the back of his head. “Ladybug doesn’t know what she’s missing!”

Adrien wrapped his arms around his friend, squeezing her tightly. Her kindness brought on a fresh wave of crying. He rested his head on her shoulder and gave himself entirely over to his sorrows, releasing years of pent up grief. He practically howled on the roof of the Grand Paris, tears pouring down his face and snot blocking up his nose. 

Chloé murmured sweet affirmations of his worth, petting him and scratching behind his feline ears. Her indulgent touch soothed his shattered soul, and he leaned into her, resting his cheek against hers. His crying spell left him spent and exhausted in a way that vaulting across the city had not. But he knew he’d be too keyed up to sleep tonight.

Eventually, Chloé’s comforting touches helped him. His breath hitched twice, and he scraped up some previously-elusive composure. He pulled back from Chloé, and she let him go, looking at him with soft, sad eyes. “You okay?” she said, and Adrien nodded.

Then he shook his head.

“I… don’t know why this one hurt me so much,” Adrien said, scrubbing a clawed hand through his hair. “I mean, I’ve asked her out before? And she’s always said no. But this time, I… I’m such a loser, Chlo. I can’t even get a girl to like me.”

Chloé took his hand in hers and turned it over, so the back of his hand was resting on her palm. She dug her thumbs into the bases of his knuckles, rubbing them in small circles. He was amazed at how good that felt, even through the suit. “Cut the self-deprecation, Adrien,” Chloé said, though her tone was gentle rather than scathing. “Does she know who you are behind the mask?”

“No,” Adrien said, sighing again. Chloé worked out a knot in the heel of his hand that he didn’t know he’d had, and he bit back a groan. “She is pretty insistent upon keeping our identities secret.”

Chloé tweaked his fingers. “I see,” she said. And that was all she said for a few moments. Adrien knew from her slightly furrowed brow and pursed lips that she was thinking, and also knew not to interrupt her. “What’s so great about Ladybug?”

Adrien blinked. “Are you kidding me?” He almost took his hand away to gesture, but Chloé held fast, rubbing his palm. “She’s wonderful. She’s brave and smart and always helping people. She’s fearless. She’s spunky. She’s strong and creative and loyal. She stood up to Hawkmoth on the first day we got our powers.”

Chloé slid her hands down to his wrist and pressed her thumbs on his veins, moving in an outward direction. The massage felt so good, he shivered. “But you don’t really know her beneath the mask. What if she picks her nose and eats the boogers?”

Adrien frowned. “Ladybug does _not_ pick her nose.”

“But what if she does?” Chloé said, drumming her fingers on his palm. “I mean, you only know the side she presents to the public.”

“She’s real with me,” Adrien insisted, allowing himself to savor the feeling of Chloé’s fingers stroking the back of his hand. “She doesn’t fangirl over me and she doesn’t dismiss my feelings.”

Chloé snorted, squeezing the webs of his clawed fingers, especially the thumb. “Of course she doesn’t fangirl over you. She doesn’t know who you are except as a coworker.” 

“I’ve met her as Adrien,” he said, sighing out of pure pleasure. His hand was limp and pliant in her grip, so Chloé switched to the next one. “She’s saved my life a time or two.”

Chloé gave him a skeptical look, so he continued. “All my life I’ve been surrounded by people who try and pretend to be something they aren’t--myself included. Ladybug doesn’t care about social norms. She just exists as herself.”

“So whom does she remind you of?”

Adrien blinked. “Pardon?”

Chloé frowned, kneading the muscle below his thumb. “I mean,” she said, huffing, “that you need to move on, Adrien. Ladybug’s unattainable. She’s in love with someone else. And even if you could date as superheroes, that probably wouldn’t get you an identity reveal out of it.”

Adrien stared at his boots. Chloé released his hand and cupped his chin in her strong fingers, lifting his head to force him to look at her. “I ship you and healthy self-esteem.”

“Ship?”

“Ship,” Chloé said, releasing his face. “Like… relationship, but as a verb.”

“Oh,” he said, blinking.

“You are in no place to have a relationship with anyone right now,” Chloé said firmly, shaking her head. “You need to work on your confidence. But… once you do… Since Ladybug’s unattainable, you can always try a rebound.”

Adrien pursed his lips. He didn’t like what he was hearing. But because the words stung, he knew they had some truth to them as they wormed their way into his heart. So he decided to open his ears and listen. “Marinette.”

Chloé wrinkled her nose. “What about Dupain-Cheng?”

“She’s the one Ladybug reminds me of,” Adrien said, and started counting the points off on his fingers. “She’s accomplished and kind and loyal to a fault. If there’s anyone I would trust to have my back outside of the mask, it’d be Marinette.”

Chloé grimaced. “Well,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “While I can’t see it, that doesn’t mean you can’t. If Marinette’s the one who you want to shoot for, go for it.” Chloé poked him in the chest. “After you get some therapy and get over your feelings for Ladybug.”

“It’s not going to be easy to get over her,” Adrien admitted, rubbing his eyes, careful not to poke himself with his clawtips. “But… I think you’re right. I never had a chance with her.”

“And you should give Dupain-Cheng a chance, too,” Chloé said, examining her nails. “Who knows, maybe she even likes you as Adrien.” Then Chloé gave him a wicked grin. “In fact, I know she does.”

Adrien started. “S-She does?” 

Chloé booped his nose. “You seriously didn’t know?”

He sneezed and sniffed. His eyes were sore from crying, so he rubbed them again. “No. I had no idea.”

“Wooow,” Chloé said, facepalming. “I didn’t think you could be any denser, Adrikins.” She patted his cheek. “Of course she likes you. You’re wonderful. And anyone who says otherwise will answer to me.”

Adrien smiled for the first time that evening. “Thanks, Chlo.”

“So,” Chloé said, shoving him in the shoulder, “go make yourself worthy of Dupain-Cheng. Give up on Ladybug. Go for a girl who you know will respond.”

Sensing his comfort session with Chloé was drawing to a close, Chat pulled his baton out from its place on his back. “Thanks, Chlo. I appreciate this a lot.”

“And go get some therapy!” Chloé shouted, as he vaulted off her roof.

***

Getting over Ladybug had taken months. But Adrien was finally able to go on patrols with her without feeling the pangs of rejection. He attended his therapy sessions faithfully and frequently visited Chloé at night as Chat to psych himself up to ask “Dupain- _Cheng_ ” out.

And today was the day. As Adrien approached her at school, he was pleased to see Nino and Alya nearby. Nino knew of his efforts to woo Marinette, and because Nino knew, so did Alya. They often cheered him on, and he’d grown closer to them both over FaceTime sessions over the summer.

But today was the day. It was the first day of the school year and those were always good days for Adrien.

Marinette was waiting at the top of the steps to the school, laughing at something that Nino had presumably said. Her hair was long and unbound, and as her giggles floated over to Adrien’s ears, he beamed.

Yes. He was going to do this.

Adrien caught snippets of their conversation as he approached. Nino was talking about Ultimate Mecha Strike III, and Marinette was giving him tips as Alya rolled her eyes. “So if you do quarter circle right, three quarters circle left, X, A, and AB in rapid succession, then you can pull off her super secret combo, Charm!”

Marinette’s bluebell eyes sparkled as Adrien pulled up to her side. “Hi, Adrien,” she said shyly, turning to him. “How are you?”

“I’m good, Marinette,” Adrien said softly, leaning into her space just a little. He breathed in her scent of cucumber melon body spray, and relaxed. Being around Marinette these past few months had had a strange effect on him; he felt at ease just existing in her presence. “Hey, listen, I have a question for you.” 

Nino gave him a thumbs up. Alya squealed and ripped out her phone camera.

Marinette blinked at him. Then she blushed prettily. “W-What is it, Adrien?”

Adrien drew a deep breath through his nose. This was it. The moment that he’d been working towards for months. He barreled forward, the words tumbling out of him in a rush. “Will you go out with me this Friday?”

A hush fell over the foursome. Marinette stared at him, and Adrien began to sweat.

Then she broke into a dazzling smile. “I’d love to.”

Nino whooped and clapped him on the back. Alya squealed and hopped from foot to foot. 

But Adrien only had eyes for Marinette. She was beautiful and caring and gentle. She never looked down at him and always gave him space to express his thoughts and emotions. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. How wonderful she was.

And he had Chloé to thank for giving him the courage. For comforting him that fateful night. She’d come a long way since then, too, learning how to tolerate and even like Marinette.

Adrien took Marinette’s hands. “So, um,” he said, grinning at her. “About our date…”

***

“And she said yes!” Chat said, leaping as high as his enhanced reflexes would let him. He landed with a rubbery thump on the rooftop of the Grand Paris, and Chloé laughed.

“So you finally did it,” Chloé said, cupping his cheeks. He practically vibrated in her hold. “I’m proud of you, Adrikins.”

He gripped her wrists gently, smiling down at her. “Thanks, Chlo. I owe you one, big time.”

“You owe me a lot more than one,” Chloé teased, grinning at him. “But I’ll take your thanks.”

“I mean it,” Adrien said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Chloé released him so he could jump. “I got the girl of my dreams because of you. I just had to give her a chance.”

Chloé smiled. “I’m glad you’re excited, Adrien,” she said. “Dupain-Cheng deserves a boyfriend who will love her for who she is.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said, finally settling down. “So, Chlo--how about you getting a boyfriend?”

Chloé scoffed, folding her arms. “I don’t need anyone.”

“You’re pretty independent, yeah,” Adrien said, tilting his head. “But wouldn’t a boyfriend be nice?”

“Adrien,” Chloé said, frowning up at him. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way.” He gulped. “But the only boyfriend I ever wanted was you. And I realized I had to let you go, just like you let go of Ladybug. You were in love with someone else.”

Adrien’s mouth made a little ‘o.’ “I’m… I’m sorry, Chlo. I didn’t know.”

Chloé shook her head. “You were in love with Dupain-Cheng before you told me you were. You just didn’t know it yet.”

“I think you’re right about that,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head. Then he looked at his oldest friend, and took her hands, pressing a kiss to the backs of her knuckles. “Thank you, Chloé. From the bottom of my heart.” He smiled again, unable to contain his giddiness. “I truly, truly appreciate you.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Chloé said, giggling. “Utterly ridiculous.”

Adrien rubbed his nose on hers. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

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